1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and devices for enhancing the power of an internal combustion engine. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and devices that enhance the power of an internal combustion engine through the injection of nitrous oxide into the engine.
2. Technical Background
Addition of an oxygen enhancer into internal combustion engines provides large amounts of horsepower by allowing an engine to burn more fuel. One widely used oxygen enhancer is nitrous oxide, which is sometimes referred to as nitrous. Burning more fuel creates more cylinder pressure pushing down on the pistons, which results in more engine power.
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a colorless, nonflammable gas. When the nitrous oxide is injected into an engine cylinder, the initial combustion within the cylinder creates enough heat to separate the nitrous oxide into its two components, nitrogen and oxygen. Once this separation occurs, the oxygen can then be used to burn more fuel.
However, the extra oxygen the nitrous oxide provides must have fuel to burn or severe engine damage may occur. As a result, supplemental fuel (also know as enrichment fuel) must be added when nitrous oxide is injected into the engine. When the amount of nitrous oxide and the amount of supplemental fuel is controlled, large amounts of power can be made while minimizing the potential of harm to the engine.
Because of this property, nitrous oxide has been used for many years to improve the power output of various engines by increasing the amount of oxygen available for combustion with the fuel. In the 1930s and 1940s, British and German engineers used nitrous oxide to boost the power output of airplane engines. This was especially important when flying at high altitudes with inherently low levels of oxygen available to the airplane engines.
Later, auto enthusiasts adapted the use of nitrous oxide to cars and other vehicles. This provided the vehicle with large boosts in horse power and torque. These boosts in power and torque are particularly important to those seeking quick acceleration. More recently, nitrous oxide has been adapted for use in motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, and snowmobiles.
While nitrous oxide does increase the power of an engine, some limitations exist with the currently available nitrous oxide systems. Because nitrous oxide increases the amount of oxygen available for combustion, additional fuel is required to combust with the increased oxygen. When nitrous oxide is used it must be in a proper proportion with the fuel. If too much nitrous oxide is fed to the engine without adequate fuel, a lean mixture may result. The lean mixture can cause the engine to run too hot or detonate damaging the engine. The excess heat can cause broken gasket seals, premature failure of rings or pistons, or other types of engine damage. Conversely, if too little nitrous oxide is mixed with the fuel, the excess fuel creates a rich condition that can cause the engine to run poorly.
Other problems with current nitrous oxide injection systems comes from the inherent properties of expanding gases. Systems for injecting nitrous oxide into an engine employ a vessel of compressed nitrous oxide such as a bottle or tank. In its compressed state, nitrous oxide is a liquid. As when other compressed liquids are allowed to expand into a gaseous state, the expansion of nitrous oxide absorbs heat, creating a cooling effect as it expands and transitions from a liquid to a gas. The expanding nitrous oxide can thus create crystals of nitrous oxide ice. This ice can disrupt the flow of the nitrous oxide into the combustion chamber and result in a lean or fuel rich mixture causing the previously mentioned problems with the proper ratio of fuel to nitrous oxide. Moreover, the frozen nitrous oxide does not readily mix with fuel and air.
Another problem with the available nitrous oxide injection systems is that the systems can only be used at full throttle and high RPMs. At low RPMs, the engine can easily become overcharged with nitrous oxide. An overcharged engine may result in broken pistons or other engine damage. In certain nitrous oxide injection systems, the nitrous oxide is forced through the intake without obstruction into the engine cylinder, potentially overfilling the cylinder with nitrous oxide. If the cylinder is overfilled with nitrous oxide, the engine may have extreme combustion forces, detonate, or overheat. Each of these scenarios can cause severe engine damage.
Environmental temperatures also cause problems with many present nitrous oxide injection systems. This is especially true with snowmobiles that are run in extremely cold temperatures. Motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles also may have problems when using nitrous oxide systems in cold or extremely hot temperatures. For example, a snow machine may be run at temperatures exceeding minus 30° F. At these extreme low temperatures, the pressure of the nitrous oxide in the vessel is low. This low pressure may result in a reduced quantity of nitrous oxide being injected.
In other uses such as motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles, the nitrous oxide system may be used in hot summer temperatures exceeding 100° F. At these temperatures, the pressure in the vessel may be high, causing an increased injection of nitrous oxide. In these hot and cold extremes, the flow of the nitrous oxide and/or fuel must be frequently adjusted to compensate for the change in pressure. Additional problems with pressure may result when the vessel is full and has a high pressure and when the vessel is near empty and has a low pressure.
To compensate for these temperature extremes, various devices and methods have been tried. For example, some devices employ a heating or cooling blanket for the nitrous oxide vessel in an attempt to keep the vessel at a constant temperature. Other devices employ expensive computerized systems that attempt to precisely regulate the amount of nitrous oxide flowing from the vessel in a correct ratio with the fuel and RPMs of the engine. Other devices have attempted to vary the fuel to compensate for the change in nitrous oxide pressure. These solutions have proved to be unreliable, overly complex, and costly.
Accordingly, it would be an advancement in the art to provide a system and method for the injection of nitrous oxide into an internal combustion engine that could compensate fuel delivery for the varying pressures in the vessel of nitrous oxide. It would be a further advancement to provide a device and method that would compensate fuel delivery for the varying nitrous oxide pressures created by extreme environmental temperatures. It would be a further advancement if the system and method were simple and cost efficient. It would be a further advancement if the system did not rely on heating or cooling blankets or computerized injection for fuel or nitrous oxide systems.
It would be an advancement in the art to provide a device and method that allow for the proper regulation and mixing of nitrous oxide and fuel, thereby preventing and avoiding engine damage. It would be a further advancement to provide a device and method that optimally mixed quantities of nitrous oxide and fuel in each combustion. An additional advancement would be obtained if the device could limit or prevent the buildup of ice crystals of nitrous oxide.